Effective removal of heat generated by various electronic components which form part of an electronic assembly such as a computer is critical in order for the assembly to operate in a satisfactory manner. In many of today's computers, circuit and component miniaturization efforts have successfully resulted in the reduction of the amount of heat generated by such circuit components and subcircuit assemblies. However, concurrent with such reduction in heat generation per component has been an increasing desire to significantly increase packaging densities, the overall result being that the total amount of heat being generated per unit area has not significantly decreased. And, in the case of supercomputers, wherein maximum densities are essential, extraordinarily high levels of heat generation are being experienced. By the term supercomputer as used herein is meant to define a high speed, high capacity information handling system wherein power levels within the range of about 50,000 to about 100,000 watts are utilized, such systems generating upwards of approximately 7,000 BTU's per minute of heat during normal operation. The processing capabilities of such systems may be within the range of about 150 to about 18,000 megaflops (millions of basic floating point operations per second). It is to be understood that the teachings of this invention are not limited to supercomputers as described above but that the cooling system as defined herein may be used satisfactorily in many various types of electronic assemblies, including computers having significantly less processing capabilities (e.g., about 5000 to 50,000 watts) than cited above. Equally significant, the invention may also find usage in information handling systems possessing greater capabilities than described for the supercomputers mentioned above, particularly if such computers are of the multileveled type having substrates and components located at separate levels within the computer's housing structure.
Various techniques have been employed to provide cooling to electronic components within a computer, including forced air through the computer's console to the use of liquid or refrigerant filled cold bars or cold plate chassis members wherein such fluids as fluorocarbon products are circulated. Such liquids may be obtained having different boiling points, depending on the operational requirements of the system being cooled. Immersion cooling has also been employed in some known computer systems and is considered to have some advantages over regular air cooling due to higher heat transfer rates and the higher heat capacity of the liquid in comparison to that of a gas.
In the case of forced air systems, hot spots have still resulted which in turn have required rather sophisticated console interior layouts and/or geometries of the system's components. On many occasions in such designs, the cabinet structure formed part of the air directional and containment means which meant that, once the cabinet's door was opened (e.g., to effect component or card repair and/or replacement), the effectiveness of the cooling means was substantially reduced. In cooling systems which utilize cooling bars and cold plate chassis members (e.g., wherein heat generated by components mounted on a circuit board or card is transmitted by convection and conduction to cold plates and then to cold bars, these refrigerant cooled bars possibly having some means for receiving the edges of the plates to which the cards may be mounted), such systems have proven insufficient for effectively removing heat in high density electronic assemblies having heat generation levels and operational wattages such as mentioned above. Finally, in the case of immersion type cooling systems, such systems mandate the provision of relatively complicated electrical and mechanical constructions in order to assure effective access (e.g., for servicing and/or updates) to the system.
The cooling means as defined herein below is capable of providing effective cooling of electronic components located within an electronic assembly, including one of the supercomputer variety, without possessing several of the drawbacks associated with systems such as defined above. As will be defined, the cooling means of the instant invention is capable of doing so in a sound, effective manner. Although the invention as described is particularly adaptable for use with air or other gas forms of coolants, it is understood that the invention is also capable of utilization with liquid types of coolants, such as fluorocarbons. The invention will thus be defined as a fluid cooling means, the term fluid meaning to include both gases and liquids.
It is believed that an electronic assembly including such a cooling means will constitute a significant advancement in the art.